How to store an AO kershaw.

T

trucker1964

Joined
Mar 22, 2008
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51
Hope this isn't a stupid question but I was wondering what you guys thought about storing my ZT 0300 series knives or any of my other Kershaw assisted openers with the blades open. I had the torsion bar break on a ZT 0300, and of course Kershaw sent me some new torsion bars. Kershaws customer service is the best!. I really notice a big difference in how strongly the blade snaps open now. Its like twice as hard. It was never this strong even when brand new. I notice that the only time tension is completely removed from the torsion bar is when the blade is fully open. It seems that when it is closed the torsion bar still feels partially bent. I wonder if it is like pistol magazines where it is best to store them long term unloaded to prevent weakening of the spring. I ask because I have several of these knives but there is only one I carry everyday. The others are just for my collection, left in new condition with factory edges. Do you think the torsion bars will weaken over an extended time under partial tension? Thanks for your opinions, I know I should have asked Kershaw when I had them on the phone but I didn't think of it. Hope I made sense.
 
Assuming the the spring is properly sized/shaped/hardened it will not matter whether it's stored open or closed, same with pistol mags. The killer is cycling the springs between compressed and uncompressed.
 
I've heard that KO stores his open. I store mine closed, b/c I am too lazy to figure a way to store them open. I don't know that it is a major issue, as torsion bars can be replaced, so, do what is easiest for you.
 
spiralarchitect said:
I've heard that KO stores his open. I store mine closed, b/c I am too lazy to figure a way to store them open. I don't know that it is a major issue, as torsion bars can be replaced, so, do what is easiest for you.
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This is true...straight from a post by KO himself on Ken Onion Forums. He did say, however, that it's not really necessary...he just feels more comfortable doing so. ;)

Myself, I would store them open but I just don't have the room to...I have too many now to even store them properly in their boxes folded...they've overflowed from the drawers of a small 3-drawer dresser to the top of a bookcase. :D

Ray :)
 
I store my AO's in the open position, as the Torsion Bar is not under pressure in the open position. The torsion bar is a spring, and will last longer if it's unloaded. It's really no big deal though, as Kershaw's Customer Service usually has a replacement Torsion Bar to your door in about three days, in which time one can rotate to one of their other Kershaws. And for those who only have one Kershaw...

Get to ordering more Kershaws!
 
Thanks you guys for responding. I assumed it would be better to store them open and it's nice to hear that's what KO does. I know I can swap out the torsion bar easy ( I just did it) but my concern is that before the torsion bar fails it just gets weak and slow and I like the way it snaps open fresh. I think it will stay fresh if they are stored open. I have extra torsion bars now but I want to make them last. I'm afraid it will be too tempting to use them up every time they get a little sluggish. Oh well guess I'm going to have to clear off a shelf in the safe.

As a side note while I was waiting for the torsion bars to arrive I carried the knife without it and I really liked it. It worked as nicely as my 0200. I was concerned with it being legal though ( I'm in Southern California) because there was no hole for the little ball bearing to go into. If anyone has knowledge of the legality of using the knife without the torsion bar where I live, I would like to hear it. I actually like the knife just as well if not better without the torsion bar. Flips open almost as fast if you know how to do it, but that may be a problem legally, I don't know. Thanks again.
 
Having a lot of experience with magazines, I don't think it will make much difference. At least it never has for any of my always-loaded magazines!
 
I do'nt believe there is a differance.I keep my AO's closed.I think if there is any tension on the bar when closed it is very slight.There is always talk on the Automatic Forum on wether or not to store auto's or switchblades in the open or closed position.The common concensus is it does'nt matter.
 
Springs are only damaged when they're compressed (or stretched) past a certain point. Assuming the torsion bars are designed, like pistol magazines, to not normally be over-compressed, then it makes no difference how it is stored.
 
Interesting comparison DTD. For my Kerhsaws, all that are in the EDC rotation are stored closed. But that's only about 10 knives. The rest are kept in my gun safe, where they are stored on plexiglas shelves in the open position.

As for magazines, I was always told to never keep all my clips loaded all the time. So only two rifles and one shotgun in the safe have full clips, tube). My CCW is a wheelie, so no problems there. I do have 4 DA autos scattered throughout the house that are fully loaded at all times. At the scheduled cleaning intervals, the room guns are replaced with others from the safe, and those are put up with empty clips.

I believe that anytime you can store any type of spring in its natural unsprung state, it's beneficial in the long run.
 
I was going to start a thread on this very subject, so I'm glad to see it was started and to read all the info.

I own a few Kershaw AO knives, plus a couple of CA-legal autos (a Pro-Tech Runt and a DKD Shark's Tooth), all of which I store open on top of a dresser. For whatever reason, I've always felt better storing them open.

I'm also curious to know if a knife like, say, The Blur or Shallot will still work just like an ordinary manual one-hander if the torsion bar were to break or wear out.
Jim
 
James Y said:
I was going to start a thread on this very subject, so I'm glad to see it was started and to read all the info.

I own a few Kershaw AO knives, plus a couple of CA-legal autos (a Pro-Tech Runt and a DKD Shark's Tooth), all of which I store open on top of a dresser. For whatever reason, I've always felt better storing them open.

I'm also curious to know if a knife like, say, The Blur or Shallot will still work just like an ordinary manual one-hander if the torsion bar were to break or wear out.
Jim
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The main issue is that the Torsion Bar is what usually keeps the knife closed, so in it's absence, without a detent, they can come open. For the models with locks (tip locks like the Leeks, Scallions and Chives, or the slide locks on the Bumps, etc.)...this isn't an issue. Any of them should open just fine, lock or not...

Ray :)
 
SPXTrader said:
As for magazines, I was always told to never keep all my clips loaded all the time. So only two rifles and one shotgun in the safe have full clips, tube). My CCW is a wheelie, so no problems there. I do have 4 DA autos scattered throughout the house that are fully loaded at all times. At the scheduled cleaning intervals, the room guns are replaced with others from the safe, and those are put up with empty clips.

I believe that anytime you can store any type of spring in its natural unsprung state, it's beneficial in the long run.
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That comment reminds me of Dwight from The Office and how he keeps various "weapons" hidden throughout the building just in case. :)
 
I've always kept mine closed (some have sat for years) and have had no ill effects.
 
trucker1964 said:
I wonder if it is like pistol magazines where it is best to store them long term unloaded to prevent weakening of the spring.
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A little OT: But the above has been disproven several times and is at odds with basic science anyway. Basically the problem with leaving magazines loaded for lengthy periods of time is that unless they are never transported or carried, they get extremely dirty over long periods of time. This collected dirt is what causes them to appear to be weaker through storage when in actuality it is accumulated dirt and dust causing FTF and other malfunctions.

Recalling my early physics education; springs do not weaken when held in a static position, nor do they loose their force over time or through use. Springs do weaken when pushed past their yield limit, causing deformation. The most familiar and debated instance of this is the springs in the magazines of firearms. For several years conventional wisdom held true that loaded magazines would fail more readily and have a significantly shorter service life that magazines left unloaded for storage. It took a while for enough evidence and testing to debunk this myth to accrue but slowly the tide has changed and most users have begun to realize that a spring does not wear unless it is in use for long periods of time and material is being removed from the interacting parts. Mere compression does nothing.
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I've always stored them closed with no problem at all. I did have a torsion bar on a midtech Onion (not a production Kershaw) break on me once, but that was from repeated cycling, not being stored closed. I know that it wasn't the storage because the knife was brand new from Ken and the bar broke within a couple of weeks of when I received it.

trucker1964 said:
I was concerned with it being legal though ( I'm in Southern California) because there was no hole for the little ball bearing to go into. If anyone has knowledge of the legality of using the knife without the torsion bar where I live, I would like to hear it. I actually like the knife just as well if not better without the torsion bar. Flips open almost as fast if you know how to do it, but that may be a problem legally, I don't know. Thanks again.
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From my understanding of the law, the knife you describe would be considered a gravity knife in CA, and therefore illegal. In California, any kind of folding knife needs to have either a detent or a bias towards closure to not be considered a gravity knife. If the knife has no detent, like you described, and if the bias towards closure that results from the SpeedSafe is absent without the torsion bar, you're looking at a gravity knife.
 
SPXTrader said:
As for magazines, I was always told to never keep all my clips loaded all the time....I believe that anytime you can store any type of spring in its natural unsprung state, it's beneficial in the long run.
Click to expand...

That is the science of Old Wives, my friend!
 
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